In the wake of the Ethiopian jet crash which killed 157 people onboard earlier this week, a long list of countries including Egypt, the UK, France, and Germany have banned the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from their airspaces and airports. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement on Wednesday that it took such decree as "a precautionary measure" to ensure the safety of passengers and aviation. Earlier, EgyptAir asserted that the company's fleet does not include any new Boeing 737 MAX 8 jets. Concurrently, the EU's Aviation Safety Agency said on Tuesday that it will close European airspace to all of Boeing's new 737 MAX 8 aircraft to ensure the safety of passengers. In the aftermath of the tragedy, airlines around the world including China, Australia, Turkey, Ethiopia, Singapore, France, Ireland, Germany, and Indonesia suspended the use of Boeing's new 737 MAX 8 aircraft over concerns about its safety. The Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed early on Sunday six minutes after its take-off from Addis Ababa. All 149 passengers of 33 nationalities and eight crew members onboard were killed. Six Egyptian passengers were among the victims of the crash: Doaa Abdel Salam, Susan Mohamed, Naser Fathy, Ashraf Abdel Hakeem, Abdel Hameed Farag, and Esmat Abdel Sattar.
